Life Sciences and Technology Building
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
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Sciences and Technology Building
Encompassing nearly 1,000 acres along the California coastline,
the University of California, Santa Barbara, boasts one of the most
beautiful campuses in the United States. But UCSB’s offerings
go far beyond its scenery. The university also has Nobel Prize winners
on its faculty and top research centers in science and technology.
UCSB biologists take a leading role in life science research at
every level – from molecules and therapeutics to ecosystems
and the environment. Perhaps for these reasons, the university’s
number of applicants has doubled in the past decade. And with increasing
numbers of students, the university is expanding its existing classroom/laboratory
space to support the life science curriculum.
 Construction
on UCSB’s new Life Sciences and Technology building began
in the fourth quarter of 2002 and is planned to open for classes
in the fall quarter of 2006. The high-tech facility will provide
the technological tools and state-of-the-art laboratories necessary
for modern research in the biological sciences. The new building
will house top-quality research and instructional facilities for
the department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
and for the department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology.
The four-level structure includes 34 laboratories and one 151-seat
auditorium-style classroom/lecture hall. In addition, more than
75 offices as well as other support and service rooms can be found
in the building.
The Life Sciences and Technology building has a concrete frame
and Class “A” architectural cast-in-place concrete walls
and columns. The cast-in-place architectural concrete shear walls
measure 18 inches thick and columns measure 18 by 18 inches to 24
by 24 inches with a 24-inch diameter. Typical bays measure 21 by
20 feet. Majority of decks are one-way steel-pan-formed beam and
slabs with heavy moment girders.
Although not on track as a LEED-certified structure, the building
features several sustainable-construction features. A 175-foot-wide
by 55-foot tall metal sunshade on the facility’s southern
façade helps provide protection from the afternoon sun. The
mat foundation has a 50-percent flyash ratio, with a cement-to-flyash
ratio of 1:1. The three-foot, six-inch deep mat foundation totals
3,022 cubic yards and was placed in three pours.
A concrete frame provides numerous advantages to the construction
of the Life Sciences and Technology Building. First, concrete helps
achieve the architect’s vision of using the exposed concrete
material as the final architectural element. The exposed concrete
surface requires no additional finish for the building. A concrete
frame for this structure, which offers numerous indoor-outdoor spaces
and natural ventilation, helps control the day- to nighttime temperature
swings and provides energy savings to the owner. Due to certain
equipment this lab facility must house, the building has very strict
vibration criteria which concrete meets since it aids vibration
control.
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| Owner: University
of California, Santa Barbara
Architect: NBBJ Architecture Design
Planning, San Francisco, Calif.
Structural Engineer: Ove Arup &
Partners California Ltd., San Francisco, Calif.
General Contractor: Soltek Pacific,
San Diego, Calif.
Concrete Contractor: Morley Construction
Company, Santa Monica, Calif.
Ready-Mix Supplier: Vulcan Materials
Company; Oxnard, Calif.
Rebar & Rebar Detailer: Regional
Steel Corporation; Claremont, Calif.
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